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Summer 2018
The News Magazine of Melbourn Village College, an Academy of The Cam Academy Trust
Global Education — Pages 8-10
History on the doorstep
MELBOURN VILLAGE COLLEGE
A group of enthusiastic Year 7 Historians visited All Saints Church in Melbourn as part of a study of medieval views on Christianity. The course has discussed the lives of monks and nuns, the fear of divine punishment and attitudes to the after-life and how the Church influenced all parts of society from peasants to princes. Year 7 students were joined by four of the visiting Chinese students who are at school for two months to learn about the English education system and to improve their language skills.
DIVINE INSPIRATION: Year 7 students take their studies of Christianity in medieval times to their local church.
Head’s ‘date’ at Palace! Melbourn Village College Principal Simon Holmes enjoyed a half-term ‘date’ with the Queen. He was invited to a garden party at Buckingham Palace, along with around 8,000 other members of the public, in recognition of the positive impact they have made in their communities. The party, the second of three being held in the palace gardens this year, was attended by the Queen, her grandchildren, the Duke of Cambridge (Prince William) and Princess Eugenie as well as two cousins, the Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra. Mr Holmes, who was accompanied to the party by his wife, said: “I was delighted and honoured to have been nominated and very proud to attend on behalf of the college and to have the excellent work that is happening here recognised in this way. “The weather was very kind and it was an unforgettable experience to be able to attend the palace, see the royal family and explore the extensive gardens.” As well as seeing the royals, guests were entertained by the Band of the Household Cavalry and the Band of Royal Logistics Corps. Garden parties have been held at Buckingham Palace since the 1860s and these days see around 27,000 cups of tea served and 20,000 sandwiches and 20,000 slices of cake eaten.
GARDEN PARTY: Simon Holmes at Buckingham Palace.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
q Trust Update — Page 3 q The Appliance of Science — Page 4 q Goodbye and Good Luck — Page 5 q Learning New Lessons — Page 6 q Trying out ‘Big’ School — Page 7 q All Students Benefit from a truly Global Education — Pages 8 and 9 q All Things Spanish — Page 10 q Works of Art go on Show — Page 11 2
q Stepping Back in Time — Page 12 q Skills Rocket! — Page 12 q Student Leads Charity Dash — Page 12 q The Beach is a Stage — Page 12 q That’s Tasty — Page 13 q Melbourn Sports Centre — Page 13 q SCSSP Round-Up — Pages 14 & 15 q Sport can Start Amazing Journey — Page 16 q Students show Sporting Prowess — Page 16
Awards for Trust schools THE CAM ACADEMY TRUST NEWS
It is pleasing and encouraging that numbers of our schools have their achievements recognised by national awards. For several years, both Comberton and Melbourn Village Colleges have received national awards for both pupil progress and attainment from the SSAT. These are presented at a major event in London annually. This year, St Peter’s School has been shortlisted for two Education Business Awards: the SEN Inclusion Award and the School Recruitment Award. Cambourne Village College recently found out that it has won a Silver Award in the ‘School of the Year — Making a Difference’ category that has been introduced for the first time this year as part of the annual Pearson Teaching Awards, which were set up 20 years ago to recognise the life-changing impact inspirational teachers can have on the lives of young people. This is a tremendous accolade for the school, with only 65 schools nationally winning awards in a range of categories and just five in Cambourne’s section. It means that the school is in the running for the Gold Award that is given to the ‘School of the Year’ at the annual ceremony in the Autumn, widely regarded as the ‘Oscars’ of teaching. The criteria for the award is ‘Making a Difference’ with a particular emphasis on contributing to the local community and strengthening community cohesion in the community. Judges were very impressed with the way that Cambourne Village College had significantly contributed (and continues to contribute) to the positive development of the community of Cambourne as well as providing a great education for all the young people of secondary age from Cambourne. Many congratulations to all of our schools that have received these positive affirmations of the excellent work they are doing.
REASON TO CELEBRATE: Gordon Johnson, chair of Trustees, presents the School of the Year silver award to Cambourne’s out-going Head Prefect team.
Performance recognised
The Education Policy Institute (EPI) has recognised The Cam Academy Trust as one of England’s top 15 best performing schoolgroups for Key Stage 4. The research, which was published last month, compared school performance and pupil improvement at every academy trust and local authority in England. The EPI analysed performance at key stages 2 and 4, the prior attainment of pupils and levels of disadvantage, as well as the historic performance of the school. Stephen Munday, Chief Executive of The Cam Academy Trust, said: “We are very
pleased to be recognised as one of the top Key Stage 4. “Since The Cam Academy Trust was set up in 2011, we have grown considerably while still maintaining our ethos to ensure that every individual pupil achieves his or her full potential through a broad and high-quality education.” You can read more about the research here: To view the https://schoolsweek.co.uk/epireport-best-and-worst-performing-academytrusts-and-las-revealed/
Exciting times ahead for CAT’s latest members Two further Primary Schools are set to join The Cam Academy Trust ready for the coming school year. Everton Heath Primary School, a small former First School just over the border in Bedfordshire, is awaiting final arrangements to see through the process of joining the Trust. Given that the school is becoming a primary school, the Trust will look at the possibilities of it joining the catchment of an appropriate secondary school, Comberton Village College, within the Trust. Thongsley Fields Primary and Nursery School is located in Huntingdon. It feeds into St Peter’s School, already in our Trust. Arrangements are taking place to seek to ensure that the school can become part of the Trust in
September. A new Head, David Jones, has been appointed (the current Head is in an acting position). Some further appointments have been made also for the school to be in a strong position to move forward in September. Given the school’s proximity to St Peter’s School, there are exciting possibilities of significant joint working between the schools in ways that can clearly benefit the education of young people in this part of Huntingdon. There are some further positive developments also that can support this. We have managed to organise for Teach First to establish its first ever cluster in Huntingdon. Teach
First recruits top graduates to enter the teaching profession and then places them in agreed schools. Clearly, this is a very promising development to provide top-quality staff in the future at both St Peter’s and Thongsley Fields. The Trust has also agreed to host a recruit to the police force through the Police Now programme at St Peter’s and Thongsley Fields. Police Now is the police equivalent of Teach First. This post will enable close and supportive working between police and the school communities. We very much look forward to all these significant forthcoming developments.
Start of a new chapter for Gamlingay
UNDER CONSTRUCTION: Work is progressing on Gamlingay Village Primary.
After much hard work, commitment and determination, the new structure of schooling in Gamlingay is set to start fully in the coming year. Gamlingay First School is to be officially named as ‘Gamlingay Village Primary’ school. Building work has been going on apace on the Village College site (which has been vacated). This is set to result in a great new Primary School facility fit for the great school that we are all determined Gamlingay Village Primary will be. The remainder of the former Village College (Gamlingay Middle School) will close this summer and thus Gamlingay will fully become part of the Cambridgeshire two-tier system of schooling. Gamlingay Village Primary School has already been confirmed as a feeder primary school in Comberton Village College’s catchment area. Much thanks is due to all the people who have worked so very hard to enable this highly positive development that can secure the future of a strong and sustainable schooling system for the community of Gamlingay. The long-term efforts of the governing body have been remarkable, as has the determined work of the Head, Shelley Desborough, and her staff as well as the support provided by the Trust’s Primary Executive Leader, Chris Jukes. Thank you to everyone who has made this positive development possible.
For job vacancies across the Trust, visit the CAT website at www.catrust.co.uk
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The appliance of science MELBOURN VILLAGE COLLEGE
Gold standard
A FIRST FOR MELBOURN: Liquid nitrogen in school during Science Week.
Pupils were treated to a fun-filled week of Science right at the end of last term. British Science Week started with some pupils taking part in the Society of Biology’s Biology Challenge. This challenge is UK-wide among all KS3 and KS4 pupils and two students from the college won gold awards (see panel). Normal Science lessons were suspended so pupils could try out fun experiments and a quiz. During lunchtimes pupils attended special sessions: making crystal gardens in jam jars; creating volcanoes and watching ‘lava’ flow; launching water rockets into the air and watching a rat dissection. For the first time Melbourn was able to get liquid nitrogen into school, thanks to Homerton College, part of the University of Cambridge. Dr David Wilson showed how extremely low temperatures change the properties of different things,
Two students have gained gold awards from the Society of Biology. The Year 10 boys, Finlay Downham-White and Ben Camilleri, were the college’s best biologists in the national online challenge which took place during National Science Week at the end of last term. All Melbourn students in Years 8, 9 and 10 took part in the competition, which involved sitting two biology papers online under exam conditions. The papers were levelled depending on the year group. Of the 208 Melbourn students involved, there were also six silver award winners and 14 bronze in a competition which attracted more than 43,000 students nationwide. It is the second year Melbourn has entered the competition as part of its Science Week celebrations.
then smashing them to pieces! As a finale pupils were shown how to make raspberry ice cream in 15 seconds — then were able to sample it. As Dr Wilson says “it’s not magic ... its science!” On the final day, science teacher Tracey Mayhead, the Gifted and Talented co-ordinator, invited 140 Year 4 pupils from Melbourn’s partner primary schools to experience science at Big School’. There were huge smiles all around amongt these pupils as they learned about chemicals inside fireworks, how hearing works, how to extract iron from matches, how static electricity can be used to move objects, how light refracts and how our eyes can fool us! They were helped by students from Year 10 who also enjoyed the experience. One of them, Lucy Dickinson, said: “I’ve loved helping these young pupils and showing TOP TWO: Melbourn’s highest scorers in the biology challenge. them fantastic science.”
GARDENING: Students make crystal gardens in jam jars during Science Week.
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PRIMARY SCIENCE: Youngsters from Melbourn’s partner schools (above and left) enjoy learning about science as much as the Year 10 students liked helping them.
MELBOURN VILLAGE COLLEGE
Goodbye and good luck END OF AN ERA: The Year 11 Prom and Leavers’ Day celebrations.
Melbourn said farewell and good luck to their cohort of Year 11 students this term.
They started study leave at half-term and marked the occasion with a bouncy castle and ice cream celebration.
Then late last month, once all the exams were over, they donned their best suits and party dresses to join many of the staff who have taught them over the years for their Leavers’ Prom at the college.
Students make decision to party . . . FAREWELL BASH: Students organised a leaving party for Ewan Walpole.
As part of Unit 5 (decision making and the process of making informed judgements as part of their Education for Employability course, a group of pupils with moderate learning difficulties had to plan a class activity which involved setting goals and identifying steps needed. They decided they wanted to organise a good luck (leaving party) for Ewan Walpole. The whole event was planned and arranged by the students. As a group they decided on the date, who was going to be invited, organising permissions, decorations and lots more. A lot of fun was had by all.
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MELBOURN VILLAGE COLLEGE
Learning new lessons
One hundred and fifty pupils from Hauxton, Harston, Fowlmere, Foxton, Meldreth and Melbourn primary schools attended the the annual Year 5 day. The youngsters, who will be choosing their secondary school in the autumn, experienced a range of subjects, including maths, science, Mandarin and English PE, DT, art and drama. They had a fantastic time and really enjoyed trying out new subjects, using the schools specialist equipment and working with other children from other schools. Kelly Coghlan, who is in charge of Melbourn’s primary liaison, said: “The pupils
were exceptionally well behaved, they worked hard in all their lessons and were willing to try new things. “We look forward to working with them in a 15 months’ time when they start at the college.” Melbourn’s newly-appointed prefect team spent the day with their primary visitors, chaperoning them to the lessons, showing them round the school and helping out and did a superb job.
SOMETHING
DIFFERENT: A
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taster day at MVC for Year 5 pupils.
Trying out ‘big’ school
MELBOURN VILLAGE COLLEGE
Melbourn’s newest students enjoyed a taste of things to come when they spent the day in lessons at the college. The Year 6 students, who will be starting in Year 7 in September, from a number of different primary schools, began life at secondary school on Intake Day. Ably assisted by Melbourn’s prefects they were guided round the school to a range of lessons including maths, science, PE, music, drama, art, where they gave pottery a go and DT. They had the chance to sample the delicious food prepared by long-serving catering manager Lynn Gregory and some also travelled to and from the day on the school buses they will use in September to complete the experience. Kelly Coghlan, who oversees primary liaison and will be their Head of Year in September, said: “When I asked them if they’d had a great day, every single child put their hand up. “Our prefects were with the new pupils all day and were a great help ensuring that they had a good day. “We are now looking forward to seeing all our new students in September after a relaxing summer.”
A DAY OF LESSONS: For the Year 6 pupils who will be joining Melbourn in September.
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All students feel the benefit MELBOURN VILLAGE COLLEGE
Melbourn has played host to a group of Year 7 youngsters from the Suzhou Foreign Language School for much of this term. The 12-year-olds are part of a larger group who spent three months in England, joining in lessons at Melbourn, fellow Cam Academy Trust school Comberton Village College, or a school in Peterborough. At Melbourn the 10 visitors have been buddied with a Year 7 or 8 student as they experienced the British education system and culture - as well as helping out with Mandarin lessons! The Cam Academy Trust’s Director of International Education, Rachel Hawkes, said: “Having Chinese students in school with us at Melbourn and Comberton is an incredibly valuable experience. “In addition to specific cultural presentations they share with us, their day-to-day presence in lessons is a direct lived experience of Chinese culture for our students. “The Melbourn students, all of whom are already learning Mandarin, also have the opportunity to try out their new language on their Chinese friends, whilst Comberton students are gaining insights that will serve them in good stead when they, together with Melbourn students, have the opportunity to take part in an exchange with The Trust’s new partner school in Beijing.” Here, some of the Melbourn-based students share their thoughts.
‘It’s a great school, everyone is so nice to the Chinese visitors; they say 你 好 when they see us. The buddies are really good, they take care of us and they help us to fit in’ — Ben
WORKING TOGETHER: In lessons at Melbourn.
On the fast-track to
HAPPY TO BE HERE: The Chinese students settle in to MVC.
MORE THAN A MUSEUM: Melbourn students met up for lunch with fellow Mandarin learners from the Anglo European school in Essex.
SOMETHING DIFFERENT: Not
Year 7 students on Melbourn’s Mandarin Excellence Program (MEP) enjoyed three day immersion in the Chinese language and culture earlier this term. They visited the British Museum in London, where they saw some amazing displays o Chinese artefacts. This was followed by an authentic Chinese lunch in Chinatown. The following day they worked with visiting Chinese students to research various Chi festivals and presented their findings to the rest of the group — in Mandarin. The final day was was spent making lanterns, cooking moon cakes and learning how use chopsticks. Many thanks to Mrs Reeves for organising these activities. Melbourn was accepted on to the national MEP at the start of the academic year. It me that each year a group of Year 7 students will start on an accelerated programme of learning the world’s most spoken language with a view to taking a GCSE up to two ye
ALL THINGS CHINESE: Year 7 Mandarin Excellence Program students enjoyed three days exploring different aspects of Chinese history and c
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t of truly global education
MELBOURN VILLAGE COLLEGE
‘My school in Cambridge is very good. They have many lessons that we don't have in China. They also have brilliant food that we don't have in school’ — Jason
‘This is a beautiful school. There are trees and flowers. Our buddies are friendly. They took good care of us’ — Kevin
FACT-FINDING: The head of the Suzhou school visits MVC.
‘We have made many good friends while studying in England. It's going to be an really unforgettable memory for me’ — Amy
Mandarin excellence all subjects are taught in China.
ys of
of
inese to
eans
ears
ART ATTACK: The visitors produced some stunning work.
early. The Mandarin Excellence Programme is run by the Department for Education, University College London and the British Council and aims to have at least 5000 students nationally on track to fluency in Mandarin by 2020. It is only open to schools rated ‘outstanding’ or ‘good’ by Ofsted and who have shown a strong curriculum presence of Mandarin as well as having a minimum of two languages taught at the school. Students are tested annually and are expected to complete a variety of homework tasks in addition to the enhanced number of hour-long lessons, one of which has been taking place during Melbourn’s after-school enrichment programme.
culture in London and at Melbourn.
OUT AND ABOUT: Students enjoy a day soaking up Chinese culture.
A Chinese experience
Fifteen Year 8 students enjoyed a day trip to Chinatown in London. The visit, a reward for those who took part in a Mandarin speaking challenge, included a full Chinese meal in the Loon Fung restaurant. Students were able to sample a wide range of dishes, including roast duck, sweet & sour chicken, and fried noodles. In addition, they had time to explore the surrounding area and purchase some authentic Chinese snacks, before catching the train back to Meldreth. Daniel said: “The food was amazing,” while Kayla commented: “It was really good learning how to use chopsticks properly for the first time and the food was mouth-watering.”
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MELBOURN VILLAGE COLLEGE
A taste of Spanish life BIRDS OF PREY: One of the highlights of the Cabárceno animal park.
We all got up very, very early in the morning for our trip to Spain — the meeting time was 3.30 am! Nobody was late, so we set off for Stansted and arrived with plenty of time to go through security and eat some breakfast. When we arrived in Spain we were met by Ismael, who had brought us some Spanish tapas to eat. Then we set off for the hotel in Comillas by coach. Once rooms were sorted out, we were able to have a bit of a rest and then we walked to see the beautiful beach and have an ice cream. In the evening we went for a swim in the pool before dinner. The first two mornings were spent in Spanish lessons with native speakers. Students tried Cantabrian cake in the break and enjoyed learning some new phrases from their teachers. In the afternoons we visited an ancient Cantabrian village for a quiz, saw an amazing house designed by Gaudí and visited the Altamira cav,e where students sampled paella for lunch and saw ancient
COMILLAS QUIZ: Enlisting the help of a local shopkeeper.
visiting local attractions as well as lessons.
cave paintings. On the third day of the trip we met some students at the Salesianos School in Santander and spent some time getting to know each other. We then played football or learnt to dance flamenco together. In the afternoon we worked in mixed teams to make presentations about the differences between Spanish and British schools and our students all stood up and spoke in Spanish. On the way home we visited a shopping centre for lots of souvenirs (and ice cream). The next day we met students from another Spanish school and it was clear that MVC students were becoming more confident and they chatted and made new friends. Their presentations were excellent and this time were about life in Cantabria. In the afternoon we visited another, very different, cave where we had lunch. Everyone tried a typical Spanish stew and then had chicken and chips. In the afternoon we had some free time in Comillas
It has to be . . . perfect!
Jenny Elliott led an impressive show of language strength at Melbourn Village College as students in Years 8, 9 and 10 took part in the Language Perfect World Championships. She earned an Emerald certificate for topping 5,000 points in the online competition. There were also gold certificates (3,000 points) for Katie Simpson and Rebecca Taylor, while Isabel Taylor, Oliver Haberghan, Olivia Bystry and Jessica Taylor earned silver (2000 points) and Gabrielle Phillips and Kayla Dudley took bronze (1000 points). Students spent a great deal of their own time on the competition, clocking up 127 hours of their own time completing online exercises, and their efforts helped rank Melbourn 17th overall in England and second for schools of similar size.
Students get a real buzz!
Spelling Bee Spanish has been offered to Year 7 as Enrichment Activity at MVC. Thirteen students started this adventure, but only Amelie Royapen, Sophie Paterson and Lucy Alabaster qualified for the Regional Competition, at Comberton Village College. Students had to learn the spelling of 150 words in Spanish to be able to go through this competition. They came through two rounds within school, learning 50 words for the opener and then another 50 for round two. At the Regional Final Competition, Sophie and Lucy were in a multi-way tie break in the first round and missed out on making further progress. Spanish teacher Jenny Correa Alvarado said: “MVC girls were fabulous and worked very hard. They had a fantastic opportunity and were eager not to miss out! They FINALISTS: Melbourn’s loved the experience and can’t wait for representatives at the regional next year’s Translation Bee Competition” finals.
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TOURISTS: The Melbourn group enjoyed
and tried churros and chocolate, as well as taking part in a treasure hunt. Students raced to be the first to complete the clues and had to ask local shopkeepers for help. On the final day we packed up and left the hotel and went to the amazing Cabárceno animal park for the day. The most impressive sight was the 97 bears — and bear cubs — who have a huge area to roam in. We also saw a day-old gorilla baby and got up close and personal with some amazing birds of prey. We were treated to a three-course lunch in the cafeteria. After lunch we took the cable car to see all the animals from above and watched a sea lion display. It was a real pleasure to see our students enjoying their experience in Spain. They were exceptionally well behaved and polite and their Spanish improved a lot. I really look forward to taking a new group of Year 8 students next year. Ivana Stanley, MFL teacher and Trip Co-Ordinator
Teaming up at Duxford
PRESENTING: Students work together at Duxford.
Melbourn students had a trip to the Duxford Imperial War Museum with students from Spanish partner school, Selsianos in Santander. They spent the visit not only getting to know the older teenagers and practising their Spanish and participating in group activities, but also looking around the museum. Kai Hocknell said: “We participated in group games with the Spanish students which was all about the Cold War and what decisions were made on whether the USA or Soviet Union would start a nuclear war, which, as a group, we decided we should!” Jacob Daniels commented: “We went to the Land War Exhibit where we spent 25 minutes exploring then went to the American War Exhibit for a game called ‘Shadow on the Future’, where teams that represented the USA and Soviet Russia decided to either nuke each other or try to cooperate. Everybody nuked each other because it was the smarter decision! “We then had to go to specific parts of the exhibit to find a detail on one of the models, for example a number on the B-52’s tailfin.”
Works of art go on show
MELBOURN VILLAGE COLLEGE
The Fine Art exhibition preview at the Plough, Shepreth, was packed with students and parents celebrating the wonderful work that has been produced over the two-year GCSE course. The exhibition preview evening featured work from each student as they had the chance to show off their ideas over time with sketchbooks, as one visitor said, “filled with skilled, artwork brimming with creative energy and ideas”. Other comments about the work praised the diversity of ideas and techniques. The art work was felt to be displayed professionally and with care in the beautiful gallery
space at the Plough. One visitor commented: “The students’ work was of a very high standard, very individual, which reflected really well on both the students and the teaching staff.” Students’ parents mentioned how much the students had enjoyed their course and had felt creatively challenged and inspired by the teaching. Many of the students will be progressing to art or photography post-16. The exhibition at The Plough ran until July 4, giving visitors to the pub the chance to view the exhibition during normal opening hours.
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MELBOURN VILLAGE COLLEGE
Stepping back in time
HISTORICAL JOURNEY: Students have been studying medieval history as well as scientific and technological changes.
On a very rainy but exciting last day before half term the History and Science Departments at took more than a hundred Year 7 and 8 students to Warwick Castle for a step back into medieval history. The display of birds of prey was particularly eyecatching as the majestic birds swooped low over the heads of the students though fortunately they and their packed lunches remained safe from attack! The eagle, a symbol of the days of heraldry, perched high up on the castle’s battlements looking down on all who passed through the gate house into the ancient
Skills rocket!
courtyard. Students took a tour of the ramparts, with the castle’s environment looking spectacular as thick cloud began to cover the countryside. They were very impressed by the great hall, the wedding exhibition and the formidable suits of armour and the trip certainly gave students much to enjoy and link back to their lessons at Melbourn. In class students have been examining castle design, sieges, the use of tactics in warfare as well as aspects of changing technology and scientific developments at this period in time. This was a fantastic end to the first half of the
summer term and gave the students much to tell
their parents on their return home in the evening.
Other recent school trips have included a variety of
locations such as Rome with the Humanities
Department, Flattach in Austria with the PE
Department, China Town with the Languages
Department and by the end of term students will
have visited Geneva with the Science Department to
That’s tasty
see the Hadron super collider.
Staff and students worked together to make sure Fourteen Year 7 students went to RAF Honington to take part in the visitors to Melbourn’s annual village fete were fed regional final of the Schools Model Rocket Car competition in and watered. The five students, Lucy Dickenson, conjunction with the Bloodhound SSC land speed record car project. Marta Taylor, Katie Foulger, Kai Hocknell and In the morning, they built cars from kits and gave them a variety of Jacob Daniels and two members of the college’s inspired names and colour schemes. catering team, Lynn Gregory and Hannah In the afternoon, they were able to see their cars fitted with rocket Wittkop, ran a ‘Tea Shop’ at the event last month motors and propelled along a course with the speed measured with all the home-made cakes having been made through a metre-long timing gate. at the college. More than £350 was shared Although no MVC cars won top honours, the students agreed that LIFE’S A BEACH: Waiting to film. between the fete and the college. they had had an interesting experience where they had not only learned to put into practice some of their maths and technology knowledge, but also honed the teamwork skills, to successfully collaborate to produce running cars within the allowed time. Well done Year 7 student Lola Brown had her first taste crowd and had a full-on day, although with to all. of the silver screen in her fledging performing plenty of waiting around. career. Annie said: “It was interesting to watch all the She is set to appear in a crowd scene in the cameras being set up and watching new as-yet-untitled film directed by Oscarrehearsals. winner Danny Boyle, which is scheduled for “Danny Boyle told us what was happening release in Autumn 2019. through a megaphone. We all had to cheer Written by Richard Curtis, the film tells the and dance like we were at a concert when he ROCKET story of Jack, who wants to be a musician At shouted 'action'. MEN AT the end of the film Jack comes back to his “They did the same scene lots of times from WORK: home town of Gorleston on the Norfolk coast different angles so there was a lot of waiting Students and plays from the roof of the pier hotel to the about. Now we have to wait for the film to work on crowd on the beach. come out next year to see if we can see their car. Lola and her mum Annie were among that ourselves in it!”
The beach is a stage
Student leads charity dash
Eight members of Melbourn’s running club took part in the Tom’s Trust Fun Run in Thriplow with Gethin Rogers winning the 5km race against adults and students. The Trust, set up in memory of former Melbourn Dynamos footballer Tom Whiteley who died from a brain tumour in 2010, raised more than £3000 from the event. Team Tom are dedicated to providing Clinical Psychology for children with brain tumours within UK hospitals. Their Clinical Psychologists at Addenbrooke’s Hospital work within a pioneering team, ensuring that
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the children have access to tailored rehabilitation enabling them to reach their full potential. The Trust hopes to work with other UK hospitals in future. n Will Arthur helped out with the Hoohaah 10K run which took place at Wimpole Hall. This was a comment from a finish line volunteer: “The Sports Leaders from Cambourne and Melbourn VC were a credit to their schools. It was very hard to believe RUN FOR FUN: Melbourn club members. they are only Year 9.”
MELBOURN VILLAGE COLLEGE
MELBOURN
SPORTS CENTRE news )RU WKRVH RI \RX ZKR GRQ¶W DOUHDG\ NQRZ ZH KDYH A state of the art fitness suite offering a variety of membership schemes A 20 metre swimming pool (kept ever so slightly warmer than most!) A comprehensive swimming lesson programme, catering for all ages and abilities Upgraded multisports courts for hire including tennis, football and squash courts Water sports courses and activities Traditional and modern exercise classes Access to Melbourn Village College sports hall and gymnasium for activities such as trampolining, badminton and basketball ƒ Supervised sports and pool parties JULY / AUGUST / SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER ƒ ƒ ƒ ƒ ƒ ƒ ƒ
We have loads on offer this Summer and early Autumn, with something for the whole community to get involved ZLWK« So why not come along and find out more about your local sports centre! KIDS¶ ACTIVITIES With the summer holidays fast approaching LW¶V QRW WRR HDUO\ RU WRR ODWH WR VWDUW SODQQLQJ \RXU VXPPHU VSRUWV :H KDYH D YDULHW\ RI activities to choose from, including our Ofsted Registered Playscheme (The Kidz Factor), Trampoline and Gymnastics Crash Course, Sport Taster Sessions and Swimming Crash Course. Also available are our ver\ SRSXODU &KLOGUHQ¶V 3HQWDWKORQ DQG 6SRUW Camps (Weekly Sports Camps), always a fun way to try out both mainstream and specialist activities.
GET FIT AND KEEP HEALTHY! With the summer fast approaching, why not let us help you shape up before your summer holidays? We have loads of classes to keep you fit and healthy, including Aqua Fit, Boot Camp and Body Sculpture. Or why not take advantage of one of our great membership schemes to our fitness suite, which houses the latest in gymnasium equipment, including C.V machines fitted with audio visual technology.
PARTY TIME!
/RRNLQJ IRU WKH SHUIHFW YHQXH WR KROG \RXU FKLOGUHQ¶V ELUWKGD\ SDUW\" 7KHQ \RXU VHDUFK LV RYHU :H KDYH DOO WKH IDFLOLWLHV here for a fun-packed event with a variety of activities for your guests to enjoy, including trampolining (always a popular choice), football and traditional pool parties.
SWIMMING LESSONS We still have plenty of spaces on our pre-school lessons and intermediate/advance lessons, so for more details or to book a place then please contact Robbie or Graham on 01763 263313. Other activities on offer this Summer and Autumn include: ƒ A range of exercise classes & courses including Pilates, Swim-Clinic (pool training session), Duathlon (triathlon training), Boogie Bounce (Booked externally) / Indoor and Outdoor Court Hire For further details on these or any other activities, please drop in, call 01763 263313 or go online at www.mc-sport.co.uk We look forward to seeing you soon.
ACTIVITIES FOR TEENAGERS AND YOUNG ADULTS
TEEN TRAINING An hour fitness session using our fitness suite machines Age range: 14 years upwards Date: Monday ± Fridays / 15.00 ± 16.30 & Weekends /14.00 ± 15.00 / Price: £2.50 per session/10 sessions for £20.00 TRAMPOLINE COURSE This course is a great way to introduce your child into this fun and energetic sport. Start to learn all the basics including twists, shapes and drops!
Mondays 16.00 ± 17.00 (4 ½ - 7 years); 17.00 ± 18.00 (7-10 years); 18.00 ± 19.00 (10 ± 16 years); Price: £4.50 - £5.50 per session (booked on a term basis)
PLUS: SWIMMING LESSONS / LIFEGUARD COURSES / TENNIS COACHING / TABLE TENNIS / BADMINTON PILATES / TRIATHLON SESSIONS / TENNIS COACHING / SQUASH AND MUCH MORE! &K &KLOGUHQ·V 6XPPHU +ROLGD\ 3Uog &KLOGUHQ·V 6XPPHU +ROLGD\ 3U &KLOGUHQ·V 6XPPHU +ROLGD\ 3 &KLOGUHQ·V 6XPPHU +ROLGD\ &KLOGUHQ·V 6XPPHU +ROLGD &KLOGUHQ·V 6XPPHU +ROL &KLOGUHQ·V 6XPPHU +RO &KLOGUHQ·V 6XPPHU +R &KLOGUHQ·V 6XPPHU &KLOGUHQ·V 6XPPHU &KLOGUHQ·V 6XPPH &KLOGUHQ·V 6XPP &KLOGUHQ·V 6XP &KLOGUHQ·V 6X &KLOGUHQ·V 6 &KLOGUHQ·V &KLOGUH &KLOGU &KLOG &KLO &KL ogr ogramme ogramm ogram ogra x S Swimmi Swimm Swim Swimming Swi w C Cr Cra Crash Cou Cour Cours Course Courses C x S Sport Spor Sports po Ca Cam Camps C x T Tra Trampolin Trampoli Trampol Tramp Tram Trampoline r Tast Taste Taster Tasters Tas a and C Cr Cra Crash Co Cour Course Courses C x F Footbal Football Footba Foot oo Ca Cam Camps C x A Aqua Aquat Aquatic Aquati qu Tast Taste Taster Tasters Ta x O Ofste Ofst Ofs Ofsted f Re Regi Regist Registe Register Registere Registered R Pl Pla Play P sch sche schem scheme sc
ME MELBO MELBOURN SP SPO SPOR SPORT SPORTS S CE CENTR CENTRE C O OPE OPEN P D DA DAY
Finally, aIWHU ODVW \HDU¶V VXFFHVV ZH ZLOO DOVR EH UXQQLQJ another Sports Centre Open afternoon on Saturday 22 nd September. The event will include a variety of free activities put on by local clubs. Children will also have a chance at competing in a SCOOTATLON/BIKEATHLON event, enabling youngsters to completing a mini fun triathlon, where they scoot or bike and run around a basic course. Full details will be released nearer the time.
Melbourn Sports Centre, The Village College, The Moor, Melbourn, Royston, Hertfordshire, SG8 6EF
01763 263313 / www.mc-sport.co.uk / info@mc-sport.co.uk
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On the run!
Round-up of the latest news from the South Cambs SSP
Smiles were in plentiful supply at Milton Country Park as youngsters took part in the South Cambs School Sports Partnership Year 3 & 4 and Year 5 & 6 Small Schools Cross Country Competitions.
It was a spirit of fun and enjoyment that filled the venue as more than 600 schoolchildren competed for individual honours and team pride. Grimaces were at a premium on the two-lap course which provided fellow competitors with the perfect opportunity to offer support and cheer on their teammates. One of the overriding aspects was the sense of sportsmanship on display throughout the competition, from the arm of support in the Year 4 girls’ race to cajole a friend on to the finish line to the ‘showmanship’ of the sprints from some of the older boys to put on a spectacle for the watching masses. The top three placed runners in each school team scored for their team but individuals could also enter to compete for one of the top three medal-winning positions in each race. Among those picking up
honours were Annabelle Helm (Meldreth) who won the Year 6 girls’ race ahead of Coton’s Olivia Welham and Madeline Welham who were second and third. In the boys’ race Thriplow’s Joseph Elgar took second with Barton’s George Hainsworth in third. Toby Day-Small won the Year 5 boys’ race for Meldreth, ahead of Harston & Newton duo Mylo Jefferson and Yoav AND THEY’RE OFF: The start of a boys’ race. Pilowsky-Rankirer, with the boys with Oscar Penton, of Barton, second. girls’ title going to Charlotte Deakon, of Thriplow, ahead of with Haslingfield’s Cara Davies. Only schools that had entered a team for all four In the Year 3/4 team competition, where again the races could qualify for the overall team competition top three placed finishers for each school counted, and that went to Harston and Newton who won both the runners from Harston and Newton dominated the Year 3 competition, Thomas Barry, Sebastian Adams & 4 and Year 5 & 6 competitions. and Toby Slack filling the top three slots. Another Thriplow took runners-up slot in the older age group classmate, Molly Smith, was second in the girls’ race with Thriplow’s Elsa Jack third. and third in the younger with Meldreth second in Josh Gomori-Woodcock, from Coton, won the Year 4 Year 3 & 4 and Haslingfield third at Year 5 & 6.
Champs retain both their titles
CONCENTRATION: Comberton’s sports leaders.
The top four primary schools from South Cambs came together for the SSP Year 3/4 Tennis Finals night at Comberton Village College. The teams of two boys and two girls from Swavesey, Jeavons Wood, Linton Heights and Harston & Newton made it to the finals from the qualification rounds involving more than 30 teams before half term. As defending county champions Harston & Newton went into the competition as favourites alongside South Cambs champions Swavesey, who were also county finalists last year. Jeavons Wood had qualified for the finals for the first time. The finals were played in a round robin format with each team playing the other three in timed singles matches. As expected the matches were extremely competitive with a great standard of tennis on
DOUBLE WINNERS: From Harston and Newton.
display and some really close scores. The final round of matches, overseen by Comberton sports leaders who helped run the event, were tense with Swavesey needing a win against Harston & Newton to retain the winners’ shield. It ended 2-2, which meant Harston & Newton finished on eight wins compared to Swavesey’s seven to win the title. Both represented South Cambs SSP at the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough County School Games Summer Festival where the champions retained their title with Swavesey again finishing second.
Leaders play key role in event’s success
BALL-WATCHING: Action from the tag rugby event.
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Year 9 sports leaders from Melbourn Village College played a key role as hundreds of primary school children enjoyed a day of tag rugby matches and activities. They were in charge of running the festival part of the tag rugby mega fest at Cambridge Rugby Club, which attracted more than 400 Year 5 and 6 pupils from across South Cambridgeshire. The event involved a tag rugby competition in two sections, won by Swavesey and Hatton Park, and alongside it a serious of fun tag-rugby activities where youngsters could practise their skills and develop their game play in a more relaxed atmosphere. And it was there the Melbourn students came into their own, guiding groups of 16 children round a series of activities while the matches were taking place. The primary children got to develop their rugby skills, teamwork and communication in games such as rugby rounders, end ball, team tag and hare and hounds before finishing in time to cheer on their school team in their final matches. Partnership Manager, Claire McDonnell said; “The Year 9 sports leaders did an incredible job. They are new to the leadership role but they showed great maturity and initiative and undertook their roles with growing confidence throughout the day. We were delighted with them. It was great to see so many children enjoying the game of rugby and getting the opportunity to take part at a big club such as Cambridge RUFC. It was the first time we have run a festival alongside the competition, but it seemed to work really well and it was nice for schools to involve more children and give a chance to those youngsters who wouldn’t have made the school team.” In the afternoon competition Haslingfield were recognised for their good sportsmanship and great determination and presented with the ‘Spirit of the Games’ award.
Round-up of the latest news from the South Cambs SSP
South Cambs supreme! WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS: Harston and Newton celebrate.
MEDALLISTS: Coton with their bronze medals.
South Cambs’ Small School teams dominated the Cambridge and Peterborough Schools Games Quadkids County Summer Games Festival final at St Ives.
Juno, from Dry Drayton, for determination and Hannah, from Coton, for being supportive to all of her group. The event was supported by Year 9 leaders from our Leadership Academy, including from Cambourne Village College, Comberton Village College, and Melbourn Village College, who helped all 320 children get to every event, and then score and time them. Claire McDonnell, Partnership Manager said: “I hope it will have inspired some of them to get more involved in athletics. There were some excellent performances on the day so congratulations to all of our winners and well done to everyone who took part.”
The competition, for schools with fewer than 120 pupil in Key Stage Two, was won by Harston and Newton, with Coton taking the bronze medal on a scorching day of competition. Unlike the South Cambs round at Cambridge University Sports Ground on Wilberforce Road, where the competitors got a little damp, the finals took place in blazing sunshine, alongside the finals of a number of other sports. It was a chance for the top two schools from each partnership across the county to compete for honours following their own competitions earlier in the year. Quadkids, for Years 5 and 6, is a team-based competition with five boys and five girls each competing in a 75m sprint, a 600m run, a long jump and vortex howler throw. Individual performances are scored using a points table and the winners are the team with the highest cumulative score. And Harston and Newton, the South Cambs champions, proved unbeatable with partnership runners-up Coton also grabbing a rostrum finish. At the South Cambs round there were some impressive individual performances in the ‘Small Schools’ competition with Thomas from Harston and Newton taking first place with 181 points, followed by Elliot from Elsworth, with 177 and Austin from Barrington with 176. Maddie, from Coton, led the girls with 176 points, Olivia, also from Coton scored 168 points and in third place was Summer, from Harston and Newton, with 144 points. Our special ‘Spirit of the Games’ award, to support the work being done in schools to encourage children to think about the lessons that can be learned through sport and the importance of values such as respect, determination, teamwork, honesty, passion and self-belief; not only in sport but everyday life, was awarded to a number of children across both competitions, including Charlotte, from Melbourn, for determination, Isla, from Fowlmere, for self-belief,
Dream team
ADAPTING WELL: Members of
A representative team from South Cambs took part in the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough County School Games Summer Festival — and won. Youngsters from Melbourn and Cambourne Village Colleges teamed up with those from Granta and Gretton Schools as well as Impington Village College for what proved a formidable force in the KS3 Adapted Multi Sports Plus compeititon. The students competed in New Age Kurling, Polyboat, table cricket and boccia and came out on top.
Hot competition at netball’s grand finale The last few weeks have seen the culmination of the annual South Cambs High 5’s Netball Leagues with a record-breaking 60 teams taking part in two divisional rounds at their local secondary school before qualifying for one of three finals nights. Sixteen primary schools competed in the last of the three finals, the A Team Shield, which was held at Impington Village College. At stake was the title of South Cambs Champions 2018 and a chance to qualify for the county finals, where the top four schools on the night would go forward to represent the South Cambs area and take on the best school teams from across Cambridgeshire. The schools were split into four pools, with each team playing all of their rivals within that group to determine whether they qualified into Division 1, 2, 3 or 4 for the next round of matches. The teams from Coton, Jeavons Wood and Linton Heights won all of their group matches on their way to qualifying for Division 1. They were joined by Bar Hill who qualified for the top division ahead of
the South Cambs team.
Harston & Newton by the narrowest of margins and courtesy of conceding just one fewer goal in their group matches. The final matches were closely contested with an extremely high standard of netball on display but it was Linton Heights who took the title ahead of Coton, Bar Hill and Jeavons Wood. All four of these teams went on to represent South Cambs SSP at the County Finals. Partnership Manager, Claire THE CHASE IS ON: McDonnell said, “Our annual Netball action. High 5 Netball League is our most popular competition of the opportunity to represent their school in inter-school year with a record 60 teams from 32 schools taking competition and it is nice for them to get the chance part in the league rounds to play in the league rounds before experiencing one “The standard of netball in the A team shield finals of the finals nights which are played in a friendly yet this year was excellent. The children really enjoy the competitive spirit.”
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Sport can start an amazing journey
MELBOURN VILLAGE COLLEGE
streamed). It’s been quite a year for rugby. I started the season as Vice-Captain for I started playing rugby at sixth form Royston Ladies, a relatively new side who entered a league for the first time (at Hills Road – so Year 11 girls this year. should watch out for opportunities to With nearly 40 women training week in week out, it’s been fantastic to watch join their sixth form teams) and played everyone come together as a team. throughout my time at Oxford From December to April we lost only one league match, and managed a fiveUniversity, even getting a chance to game streak where we only conceded five points. don the dark blue shirt for the Varsity We finished the season on a high, coming second in the league, and are looking match (back before they started for promotion — not bad for the first season playing league games. allowing the women to play at I was very proud to be elected Captain for next season and we hope to get even Twickenham with the men!). more women to play so we can have a league team and a Merit (new to rugby) Little did I imagine that one day I team. So if there are any women or girls reading this who might fancy a go, come would be walking out representing my and visit us at the Heath on a Tuesday or Thursday (7-8pm). country, so it just goes to show the As well as a successful season with Royston I was lucky enough to get called up to represent England as the starting fly-half in the England Deaf Ladies squad. This is an amazing team, with fantastic ladies from around the country. We meet regularly to train in different parts of England, and play friendly and international matches. The Ladies team has been going strong since 2012, and consists of women who also play for club and county teams. As the name suggests, all members of the team have some level of hearing impairment, and we use a mixture of speech and signing on the pitch (a challenge for a non-signer like me!). As the 15s season drew to a close, some of the squad travelled to Australia to take part in the Deaf World Rugby 7s — this year was the first time a Women’s competition had been run. Having seen our women play, it was no surprise that they came ENGLAND CALLING: For Melbourn teacher Beth Cooke (top and far left). home with gold, beating hosts Australia in a tense final. journey sport can take you on if you give it a chance. After joining slightly later in to the season (and with the travel commitments I can’t advocate for rugby as a sport enough — from the general ethos of the requiring a two-week break just after the Easter holiday!) I was unable to go with game, to the unity that develops within a team, it truly is an amazing sport and the girls, but hopefully with new funding from the RFU, and a greater recognition one you can get involved in at so many levels. of this area of the sport, there will be plenty of competitions at home and abroad Coming along to enrichment rugby at school, or heading to Royston for a club that I will travel to with the team. side can be just the beginning if you want it to be. It really has been an amazing experience — it’s hard to describe the feeling of walking out on to the pitch wearing an England shirt or knowing that there are people from all over the country watching you play (EDRU games are live Beth Cooke, English and Media Studies teacher
Students show their sporting prowess Melbourn students have been enjoying success recently with their out-ofschool activities. Judo players Daisy King, Rebecca and Daniel Frisby all won medals at the National Schools Judo Competition in Sheffield, Dominic Clemons impressed at an international golf competition, footballers Ruby Want and Harriet Henry helped Cambridge City under-12s to multiple success, Melbourn Dynamos, made up mainly of Year 8 boys, collected a silver double, and Ben Clarke’s rugby prowess was recognised by his club. The judo trio all came through extremely tough competition with Daisy winning the Year 6/7 under-44kg gold medal, Rebecca taking silver in the same age group over-63kg class and Daniel collecting bronze in the Year 8/9 over-66kg. Their medal haul also meant Melbourn finished fourth among all the schools in the UK on medal points. l Year 11 student Dominic Clemons took a revision break to play in the under-18 Fairhaven Trophy at Fairhaven Golf Club in Lytham, Lancashire.
STARS: Melbourn students with their spoils.
The prestigious competition attracted 123 players with Dominic finishing a very creditable joint 13th in the 72-hole scratch open international junior competition, carding rounds of 74, 74, 76 and 67 to finish eight shots behind the winner. l Year 7 students Harriet Henry and Ruby Want helped their girls’ team to triple success inside 10 days as they first won the Minehead ESF national tournament, where they also picked up the Fair Play Award. As well as giving them the chance to meet England legends Kevin Keegan and Casey Stoney, it also earned them a place in the National Final at St George’s Park, home of the FA, in July. They followed up by winning another national tournament, this time a highquality affair in in Bognor Regis, on a very hot and tiring weekend before clinching their under-13 league title with a 5-1 victory although they were playing up a year. They went on to win the cup final too, beating Coton 3-2 with Ruby scoring the winner, while Daisy King helped her under12 team to victory in their final against Panthers. l Ben, in Year 7, was awarded Royston Rugby Club’s Chairman’s Cup for the 2017/18 season and had his trophy presented by Saracens and England legend Billy Vunipola. l PE teacher Fiona Humphrey has also been busy. She has completed her training to be a hockey games maker in the upcoming Vitality Women’s Hockey World Cup this July/August. She will be in the information centre in the Fan Central or Arena near the Olympic Park in London, so look out for her if you are attending.
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